School enrollment climbs upward

The latest enrollment figures show Sisters School District continuing to add students - although not yet reaching the projected level for this time of the school year.

"We tend to shrink as the school year goes on, but this year we have grown," Superintendent Curtiss Scholl said. "It's a positive trend."

He spoke last Wednesday during the monthly Sisters School Board meeting, where enrollment details were released.

Total enrollment stood at 1,090 as of January 30. That's 19 students below the projection but up 14 from a month earlier. The biggest disparity is at Sisters Elementary School, which has 326.5 students - down 16.5 from the anticipated level.

There are 328 students at Sisters Middle School. That's just nine below projections. Sisters High School's 435.5 student count is 6.5 above the projection.

District officials have been studying the reasons enrollment is lagging somewhat. One plan to reverse the situation is revising the District's mission and vision statement. Improved "customer service" and "inclusive practices" are other areas of focus.

Scholl said inclusive practices are "teaching practices that benefit all learners." Customer service means "that our families and their kids know we care about them and we care about their success," he said.

Overall, the District has gained 34 students since September 13, 2016. Enrollment is important because the State of Oregon allocates about $7,000 per student to each public school district.